Garfield man convicted in beating of 81-year-old neighbor

By KIBRET MARKOS

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

A Garfield man was convicted Friday of brutally beating his 81-year-old neighbor to death during a failed burglary three years ago.

Gabriel Romero Sanchez had told a bizarre story when he took the stand in his own defense in Superior Court in Hackensack, testifying that he found himself covered in blood inside the home of Angelina Costa but didn’t remember how he got there.

Jurors deliberated for 2½ days and rejected Sanchez’s story, finding him guilty of murder, felony murder, burglary and criminal weapons possession. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 28.

Sanchez showed no emotion as the verdict was read and was later taken out of the courtroom in shackles. His attorney, Saray Miller, declined to comment.

Family members and friends of Costa let out sighs of relief and broke into tears when the foreman announced the guilty verdicts on all seven counts.

All six women and six men on the jury waited outside the courtroom after they were dismissed and hugged Costa’s son, David, and other family members.

“It’s not something to be happy about,” David Costa said later of the verdict. “But it is a load off.”

Alvin Armani, a family friend who attended the trial every day, said the verdict was “bittersweet justice.”

“But it doesn’t bring Angelina back,” he said.

Family members also exchanged hugs with Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor John Higgins and detectives who worked on the case.

“We are profoundly relieved for the Costa family,” Higgins said. “Our prayers are with them.”

Higgins said during the trial that Costa lived alone in a meticulously kept home on Gaston Avenue, next to Sanchez’s residence.

Sanchez entered Costa’s home on July 8, 2007, through a basement window and headed upstairs, thinking no one was home, he said.

Costa, who was asleep on a couch in the living room, woke up, began screaming and put up a fierce fight, Higgins said.

Sanchez then punched Costa, but she kept fighting, tried to escape and broke the glass on her front door to attract neighbors’ attention. Sanchez then picked up a large ceramic bowl and smashed it on Costa’s head until it shattered. As the elderly woman lay motionless on the floor, he picked up a chair and hit her with it, Higgins said.

Sanchez later confessed to detectives that he broke into Costa’s home because he needed money. He said he attacked her because “she wouldn’t stop screaming” and that “she was winning” as she fought him. He also said he left the home with nothing.

Detectives later found Sanchez’s blood and DNA in Costa’s home. They also found Costa’s DNA on a shirt recovered from Sanchez’s home.

Sanchez, 49, was arrested shortly after Costa’s death. He pleaded guilty in March 2009 to aggravated manslaughter and agreed to serve a 30-year term.

Four months later, however, he withdrew his guilty plea and decided to go to trial for murder.

“I was very drunk. I don’t even remember,” he said at the time through a translator.

“I made myself guilty just so I can get out soon. I want everyone to know that I never meant to hurt anyone. You can do with me whatever you want.”

During his trial, he testified that he was out drinking with friends before heading home on his bike. He said he fell three times on his way home and blacked out after his last fall. The next thing he remembered, he said, was waking up inside the home of Costa, who was lying face down on her kitchen floor in a massive pool of blood.

“With all due respect, that was an extraordinary story,” Higgins said during his closing argument.

Judge Eugene Austin revoked Sanchez’s bail on Friday and ordered him held at the Bergen County Jail until his sentencing.

Garfield man convicted in beating of 81-year-old neighbor

A Garfield man was convicted Friday of brutally beating his 81-year-old neighbor to death during a failed burglary three years ago.

Gabriel Romero Sanchez had told a bizarre story when he took the stand in his own defense in Superior Court in Hackensack, testifying that he found himself covered in blood inside the home of Angelina Costa but didn’t remember how he got there.

Jurors deliberated for 2½ days and rejected Sanchez’s story, finding him guilty of murder, felony murder, burglary and criminal weapons possession. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 28.

Sanchez showed no emotion as the verdict was read and was later taken out of the courtroom in shackles. His attorney, Saray Miller, declined to comment.

Family members and friends of Costa let out sighs of relief and broke into tears when the foreman announced the guilty verdicts on all seven counts.

All six women and six men on the jury waited outside the courtroom after they were dismissed and hugged Costa’s son, David, and other family members.

“It’s not something to be happy about,” David Costa said later of the verdict. “But it is a load off.”

Alvin Armani, a family friend who attended the trial every day, said the verdict was “bittersweet justice.”

“But it doesn’t bring Angelina back,” he said.

Family members also exchanged hugs with Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor John Higgins and detectives who worked on the case.

“We are profoundly relieved for the Costa family,” Higgins said. “Our prayers are with them.”

Higgins said during the trial that Costa lived alone in a meticulously kept home on Gaston Avenue, next to Sanchez’s residence.

Sanchez entered Costa’s home on July 8, 2007, through a basement window and headed upstairs, thinking no one was home, he said.

Costa, who was asleep on a couch in the living room, woke up, began screaming and put up a fierce fight, Higgins said.

Sanchez then punched Costa, but she kept fighting, tried to escape and broke the glass on her front door to attract neighbors’ attention. Sanchez then picked up a large ceramic bowl and smashed it on Costa’s head until it shattered. As the elderly woman lay motionless on the floor, he picked up a chair and hit her with it, Higgins said.

Sanchez later confessed to detectives that he broke into Costa’s home because he needed money. He said he attacked her because “she wouldn’t stop screaming” and that “she was winning” as she fought him. He also said he left the home with nothing.

Detectives later found Sanchez’s blood and DNA in Costa’s home. They also found Costa’s DNA on a shirt recovered from Sanchez’s home.

Sanchez, 49, was arrested shortly after Costa’s death. He pleaded guilty in March 2009 to aggravated manslaughter and agreed to serve a 30-year term.

Four months later, however, he withdrew his guilty plea and decided to go to trial for murder.

“I was very drunk. I don’t even remember,” he said at the time through a translator.

“I made myself guilty just so I can get out soon. I want everyone to know that I never meant to hurt anyone. You can do with me whatever you want.”